1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma panel, and more specifically, to a plasma panel capable of enhancing discharge efficiency of discharge gas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A plasma panel (PP) is one kind of flat light-emitting devices and is similar to a fluorescent lamp using gas discharges to create brilliant irradiation. The luminescent principle of the PP involves the production of ultraviolet (UV) rays by plasma first, followed by irradiation of the UV rays to produce visible light. Since the PP has the advantage of a thin and large-scaled design, and low radiation, it can be used as a backlight of a large-sized liquid crystal display device.
Referring to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art plasma panel. As shown in FIG. 1, a plasma panel 10 comprises a front substrate 12, a rear substrate 14 parallel and opposite to the front substrate 12, and a discharge gas sealed between the front substrate 12 and the rear substrate 14. Additionally, the plasma panel 10 further includes a plurality of electrode pairs 16 located on an upper surface of the rear substrate 14, a dielectric layer 22 deposited on the electrode pairs 16, a phosphorous layer 24 formed on a lower surface of the front substrate 12, and a plurality of spacers 26 positioned between the front substrate 12 and the rear substrate 14. Each of the electrode pairs 16 has an electrode 18 and an electrode 20. In addition, each of the spacers 26 is formed on the dielectric layer 22 and is approximately located between the electrode 18 and the electrode 20 for separating the front substrate 12 and the rear substrate 14. Owing to the spacers 26, a gap between the front substrate 12 and the rear substrate 14 is larger than 10 μm for providing a sufficient discharge space for the discharge gas. In general, each of the spacers 26 is an insulating glass ball, and the discharge gas comprises an inert gas such as neon (Ne), xenon (Xe), or a mixture of neon and xenon.
The luminescent principle of the plasma panel 10 is explained as follows for introducing the plasma panel 10 more particularly. Firstly, a discharge voltage is supplied to the electrode 18 and the electrode 20 via a driving circuit (not shown) for inducing a surface discharge between the electrode 18 and the electrode 20 and causing the gas molecules near the electrodes 18 and 20 to become plasma particles. Then, the plasma particles near the electrodes 18 and 20 continue to bombard other gas molecules to form more and more plasma particles. At the same time, the excited atoms within the plasma particles irradiate ultraviolet rays, which are absorbed by the phosphorous layer 24 to produce visible light for making the plasma panel 10 irradiate light beams. However, as the plasma is ignited inside the prior art plasma panel 10, the power consumption is quite high so that the discharge efficiency is reduced and a value of the plasma panel 10 is lowered. As a result, it is an important issue to improve the discharge efficiency of the plasma panel 10.